4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2006
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Stop by The Daily Kansan on campus and pick up a complimentary pass to attend a screening of
Wednesday, March 15th Southwind 12 • 7:30PM!
One admit-two pass per person. While supplies last. Passes available on a first-come, first-served basis. No purchase necessary. Employees of all promotional partners and their agencies are not eligible. This film has been rated R by the MPAA for strong violence and some language. No one under 17 will be admitted without a parent or legal guardian.
IN THEATRES FRIDAY MARCH 17TH
Conductor
Uljanov — pronounced OoIYA-nuff — understands the appeal of sports, but does not understand why music and the arts do not enjoy the same popularity among KU students.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Ujjanov's level of dedication is evident even in casual conversation. Any attempts to elicit personal information from him quickly turn to talk of the orchestra and ways it can be improved and expanded.
In fact, Ulianov is a bit of an athlete himself. His tall, athletic frame gives credence to his recollections of playing tennis and soccer, skiking in the Alps and, although his stiff body movements make the visualization slightly more difficult, figure skating competively.
"Everyone on this campus is welcome to come to us," he said repeatedly. He wants everyone to know that the music department will work with them to find a way for them to play.
Kevin Pitts, Topeka senior, said that before Ulijanov came, expectations of the orchestra members weren't very high. If members couldn't play a part, they wouldn't be held accountable.
"The orchestra realizes how much better he has made us as a group." Pitts said.
He laughed at the prospect of having hobbies outside of his job, saying he had time for little other than his work. He said he often worked late into the night.
His students generally characterize him as firm, but fair. They credit the quality of the orchestra to his conducting ability and strictly on-task rehearsals.
Although he wasn't inclined to talk about himself, the pride was evident when he talked about the conducting workshops he set up with Gerhard Schwarz, the music director of the Seattle Symphony. Uljanov wrote him an impassioned letter about strengthening the cultural value of the music
Total Dedication
Most of his students simply call him maestro, a common term for conductors. Coming to the University two years after Brian Priestman, a father figure of a conductor, Ulijanov has injected some discipline and ideas of his own by adding a rehearsal to the weekly schedule and creating an orchestra advisory council. Such a council usually exists only in professional orchestras. The council gives students an opportunity to discuss their ideas about repertoire and the direction of the orchestra.
"To get this man to Kansas is very difficult. He is very famous. I convinced him to come to us and do this conducting workshop. It's a very important event not only for the school of music, but for the entire University."
programs at the University.
Schwarz will be here on April 17 and 18, and both he and Uljanov are hoping to create a musical version of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.
iowa wartz said, "That remarkable program helps identify Iowa. With that knowledge, I was intrigued to try to do something in our musical world that was significant nationally and could help identify the University of Kansas as the cultural center and force that it is."
A HISTORY OF Uljanov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, but he was not about to divulge the year.
"I'm too old. Everybody will say, 'We have the old professor,'" he said.
He speaks five languages — Russian, German, French, Italian and English. Unfortunately, he said, English is his worst.
His resume boasts study under some of the most talented conductors in the world, including Mariss Janson, Ilja Musin and Alexander Dmitriev. He has conducting experience with well-known orchestras across Europe, Russia and South America. Notable examples include the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Radio France and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, also in France.
He has extensive knowledge of voice and all brass and string instruments, but his greatest strengths are the violin and the piano, both of which he has played since age 6.
Uljanov knew he wanted to be a conductor since he was 5 years old and attended his first ballet performance. He said the St. Petersburg ballet was one of the oldest and best in the world at that time. He said he believed that every child has some experience in their youth that makes a very strong impact and shapes their future and choice of profession.
"To be a great conductor, you have to be first a great performer." Ulianov said.
Currently his favorite composer is Beethoven, but he said in a month it will be different. He loves the composer whose music he is currently working on, he explained.
He came to Lawrence, which he described as a "small, nice,
very quiet city," to teach. He was taught that it is important to share your gifts with the next generation so that the art never dies.
When we came here, his wife,
Helen, and their two children,
ages 24 and 26, remained in Salzburg, Austria. Although he said
he wished to keep his private life
private, he lit up as he counted
how many days it would be until
he would see his wife.
"I miss every place I lived. Every place I lived more than two or three months, you leave some part of your heart of your life," he said.
At Work
Patrick Hauber, a Cleveland, Mo., graduate student, is one of Uljanov's three graduate conducting students. He said seeing Ulianov conduct was what made him to come to KU after graduating from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
"The minute he steps up to the podium, it's just this electric energy that I've never seen from another conductor, not even the famous ones," Hauber said.
Hauber admitted that Ulijanov pushed his students hard, saying that although he got paid for eight hours, he usually worked far more.
"He's not the type of guy to hold your hand. He will just say what needs to be said and sometimes that will rub people the wrong way," Hauber said. "It's as natural to him as one foot in front of the other."
Ulijanov stays up until midnight many nights, thinking of new ways to do things and instituting outreach programs and partnerships. Hauber said. There are many administrative duties that accompany being a conductor.
Hauber said there were days when he would go home "mad as heck" at Uljanov, but after evaluating his own performance, he appreciated that Uljanov was a great teacher.
"If he were a mean person,he wouldn't be saying these things, he would be keeping them from us," he said.
"When you think about the budget that we don't have, and the staff that we do, it's really amazing that it gets pulled off," he said.
Although it isn't obvious, behind the polish of instruments and the formality of performance attire, a man sits in an office late into the evening, planning and devising new ways for his orchestra to be heard.
— Edited by Kathryn Anderson
KU enrollment during semester employed with a minimum 2.76 GPA (3.0 GPA preferred)
required qualifications:
30 or more credit hours by time of employment (60 hours preferred)
Want to make a difference in the lives of other KU students?
Be eligible to work with the Learning Community for the entire fall semester or academic year depending on LC
Looking for a paid leadership opportunity?
position description:
Peer Educators (PEs) work with approximately 20 students as part of a Learning Community. They will cofacilitate a seminar course with faculty or staff member, provide academic-related, out-of-class programming and serve as a resource for the participants in your community.
interested?
go to www.tlc.ku.edu or if you have other questions contact Linda Dixon at ldixon@ku.edu or 864.0187
to apply, go to the HR website at jobs.ku.edu
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